Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert plans to break ground soon on the tallest building in Detroit. But history suggests that plans for 'tallest towers' may herald the coming of a recession.
JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press

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The former Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit, before its demolition.(Photo: Ryan Garza, Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo

An affiliate of Dan Gilbert's real estate firm is preparing to buy Detroit's former Brewster-Douglass public housing site to build mixed-income housing.

The Detroit Housing Commission's Board of Commissioners voted Monday to start negotiating a $23-million deal to sell the 18-acre site to the Douglas Acquisition Co., an affiliate of Gilbert's Bedrock firm, said Richard Hosey, president of the housing commission's board and an area developer.

"Their goal is to do mixed-income housing with a focus on affordability and market-rate," Hosey said Monday.

Hosey referred questions regarding details of the plan to Bedrock. A Bedrock representative did not return a message seeking comment.

However, the Bedrock project could be similar in scale to a proposal for as many as 850 apartments and townhouses on the site that the city released last year, Hosey said. That proposal was billed the Frederick Douglass Homes.

Whatever number of housing units are built, Bedrock has committed to setting aside more than 20% of them for individuals and families with below-average incomes, Hosey said.

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The last of the project's four 15-story towers was razed in 2014.(Photo: Mary Schroeder, Detroit Free Press)

The Brewster-Douglass site is situated along I-75, just north of downtown, and has been vacant since 2014, when demolition crews finished razing the last of its four 15-story brick towers. Brewster-Douglass was once home to famous Detroiters, including Motown's Diana Ross, but the towers emptied out in 2008.

The potential deal is subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Last year the city sought, but failed, to land a $30-million HUD grant to jumpstart the Frederick Douglass Homes plan.

Bedrock was also part of that proposed venture, which also called for development in nearby Brush Park and Eastern Market.

Bedrock is currently developing the City Modern project in Brush Park that includes 410 new and renovated residences.

Bedrock is currently developing the City Modern project in Brush Park — an 8.4 acre mixed use development that will include more than 400 new residential units, as well as condominium units for sale and retail space.